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To effectively develop a brand through marketing, you must build your brand's personality. An important part of brand personality is the tone of voice in advertising. The tone of voice in marketing means not only what your advertisements say about your brand, but how they say it.

Values

Because advertising tone of voice is meant to convey a brand's personality, a successful tone of voice will clearly communicate the values of your brand. For example, if you are selling home improvement supplies, you may want your brand's tone of voice to communicate that your company is competent, knowledgeable and helpful. If you are selling clothing to teens, the tone of voice might suggest that your brand is fun and popular.

Vocabulary, Grammar and Style

In both written and spoken advertising, the vocabulary, grammar and style you decide on will define your tone of voice. For instance, a friendly tone of voice might use a warm style of speaking and informal language and grammar. A company that wants to project its brand as knowledgeable might use a detached or professional style, proper grammar and more formal language.

Consistency

Whatever tone of voice you want to represent your brand's personality, consistency is the single most important value in building it. Advertisements that deliver a consistent tone of voice build a believable brand personality that consumers feel they can trust. In contrast, advertisements that switch between contrasting tones of voice can create a sense of discomfort in consumers, just as unpredictable personalities can be alienating in real life.

Variation

Although consistency in tone of voice is crucial, it also is important to know when to vary your style within your brand's established tone of voice. For example, while your advertisements uniformly project a fun tone of voice, advertisements aimed at children might use one set of vocabulary, while those aimed at adults use another. Similarly, different types of media require somewhat different styles; you may find that a successful newspaper advertisement demands different grammar than an advertisement on a social media website.